


I’m Still Hoping

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Unrequited Love, all the things leading up to suyins birth, flashes back to their teens, pre lok, precious tokka moments, slowburn, sokka is suyins dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:53:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25439521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: She’s 37 now, but her feelings for Sokka haven’t subsided a bit. Now that he’s in her grasp, will she finally get the guts to tell him how she’s felt for him her whole life? And will he feel the same way?
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong/Sokka
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	1. A Night Out

It had been months since the group had been all together. Sokka was busy going back and forward between The Water Tribe and Republic City, Katara was busy with her healing clinic and being a mother of three children, Zuko was back in the fire nation, Suki was doing her thing on Kyoshi Island, and Aang, well he was the Avatar, so he was busy most of the time.

Toph missed her friends dearly, and had been looking forward for this get together for weeks. They were leaving the kids with babysitter, and for once in a blue moon, we’re getting to have fun with each other without the company of the kiddos.

Toph got Lin ready at their house. Toph put on a long sleeved dress that Katara had bought her, Lin wore a dress too—to be like mommy— and they made their way to Katara and Aangs place. Lin was excited to see Bumi, Kya, and her best friend, Tenzin.

When they got there, Toph smiled as she felt her daughters heart race increase because of how happy she was.

“Mommy, I love you! Have fun tonight with your friends!” Lin wrapped her arms around Toph as she knelt down on the ground.

She ruffled the young girls hair with a smile. “I love you too, and I will Linny. You have fun with your friends tonight too. Don’t cause the babysitter _too_ much trouble.”

Lin smiled wide even though her mom couldn’t see it. “Of course mom! Bye!” Then she ran off inside to join the other children.

Toph followed behind, entering the house and feeling that Aang and Katara were saying goodbye to their children as well. The hearts of all of her friends were racing with love and joy, it made her smile to herself. She was so enamoured in the happiness that she almost didn’t feel the footsteps coming up behind her. _Almost_.

She turned around quickly and was pulled into a big hug. The person was very much taller than her, built well, and his beard was touching the top of her head as she rested against his chest.

“Snoozles.” She said, muffled.

Sokka only laughed and pulled away from the embrace. “I’m 40 years old and you’re still calling me by that silly nickname?”

Toph smiled. “Of course I am. When you finally grow up I’ll give you a different one.” She heard him laugh, and she felt it was the perfect time to sock him in the arm. He groaned in pain and jumped away, but she knew he was over exaggerating just a teensy bit.

At the sound of her brothers pain, Katara turned her head over to the pair. “Sokka! Toph!” She shouted from the kitchen.

She quickly made her way over to the duo and engulfed them in an embrace. Soon after, Aang came over and joined in as well.

“I’m so excited for tonight. It’s going to be great.” Aang said with a cheery smile on his face. Toph punched him in the arm as well, to show her affection.

Katara looked around the room. “Is Suki coming? I thought she would be with you.” She asked her brother, who was fidgeting with his hands.

Sokka shook his head and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “No... uh—we’re kind of on a break right now.”

The room fell silent. Everyone knew that Sokka and Suki’s relationship was quite strained, but no one dared to say anything. The long distance was hard for the two of them, but they tried to made it work... they tried so hard.

But it was always Sokka who was visiting her, she never made an effort to see him. He didn’t blame her for that, she was a busy woman, but a part of him was upset that she wasn’t trying harder.

Unsurprisingly, it was a Toph that broke the pregnant pause. “I’m that case, we should get going. The alcohol isn’t gonna drink itself.”

Sokka smiled down at her, thankful for the change of subject. “Yeah, lets go.”

...

The bar was nearly full when the four of them walked in. It was loud and busy and obnoxious. Toph didn’t want to say anything, but the amount of feet and vibrations made her feel sick. Good thing she would be filled with alcohol soon.

They grabbed a table and began ordering. Drinks on drinks on drinks. Soon, there wasn’t any room for any more. But that didn’t stop them, they just stacked the empty cups on the ground to make space. They chatted for hours, about their lives, jobs and kids. It felt great... the four of them basking in each other company. Toph found that she missed them more then she had thought.

She was about eight or nine drinks in when her head felt extremely fuzzy. Whenever she got like this, she would say things that were on her mind—and usually they weren’t good things.

“I’m sorry about you and Suki.” She said out loud. Okay, not so bad. “But I think it may be good for you Snoozles.” Okay, bad.

Aang and Katara’s heads snapped over at her, their eyes widened with shock. Sokka only grabbed his cup and took another swig.

He set his cup down. “Why is that, Toph?” He put his elbow on the table to rest on, and turned his full attention over to her.

Toph burped, and laughed after. “I think...I think I’m gonna be sick.”

The three others watched as she got up and exited the bar, holding her hand over her mouth and gagging. Sokka and Katara exchanged a worried look, and he got up and followed her.

Aang raised a hand to attract the waiters attention. “I’ll take the check please.”

...

_She was so close to dying on the day of the comet. She had been dangling off the end of a freaking air ship for crying out loud. But she didn’t die, because Sokka held onto her. The same boy who had broken his leg not even minutes before._

_He held onto her like his life depended on it. She would never forget the feeling. Everything was black.. nothingness. Except Sokka. He was the only thing she could ‘see’. She could feel his heart beat going a million miles per hour, and she knew that they were done—Except they weren’t. Suki came, and she saved them._

_This was only a few weeks ago, but she still felt everything like she was still there._

_Toph sat outside of the Jasmine Dragon, her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn’t know what it was, but something inside of her was wrong. She hadn’t been sleeping well, or eating well. Whenever she had free time to think, her mind would immediately bring her back to that moment._

_When she almost died._

_She felt so weak and stupid. The war was done, and things were good—great even. Aang and Katara we’re together, Zuko and Mai... and Sokka and Suki._

_She didn’t want it to hurt that much. Seeing(or rather feeling) the two of them together broke her though. She knew that she had a crush on her best friend, but she thought it would’ve passed by now. Especially since his girlfriend was so awesome and cool, and since she saved her life._

_But it didn’t. Everything was hurting and she didn’t really know how or why. But she wanted it to stop._

_She let out a sigh and wiped the tears that had began to fall without her knowing. Then she heard the footsteps coming up beside her._

_“Toph...” He sat down beside her, a little too close._

_“Snoozles.” She sniffed a little, trying to hide all the evidence of her crying._

_Obviously it wouldn’t work on Sokka. He was too perceptive and he knew her too well to not notice._

_“What’s wrong?” His voice was soft. It made her frustrated and mad and she wanted to go punch a rock-_

_“Nothing. I’m fine Sokka... you can go back inside.”_

_He shook his head. “You’re not fine Toph. Don’t lie to me. I may not be able to feel the vibrations, but I do know you.”_

_She let out a huff. “I was just thinking about stuff.”_

_“What kind of stuff?”_

_“War stuff.” Her voice was quiet and small, too weak for her liking. But she was with Sokka, so she didn’t care if she sounded fragile, because he knew the real her._

_Sokka nodded. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it too. Sometimes when I dream, it’s of you and me on the airship.”_

_She turned over and looked up at him in surprise. “Really?”_

_“Yeah.” He sighed. “And sometimes in my dreams, you fall.”_

_Her head dropped. “Oh.”_

_Toph jumped a little when she felt his hand on her arm. “You fall... and then I let go too.”_

_“What— why would you let go?” A confused look appeared on her face, but her heartbeat began to beat a little quicker._

_“Because... I think that’s what I would’ve done if you fell that day.” Sokka sighed again. “I think I would’ve jumped too... I wouldn’t have let you go alone.”_

_Toph blushed at that. But then she immediately regretted it. This was her best friend saying he would kill himself if she fell... not cool._

_She punched him in the arm lightly. “Don’t day stupid things like that, Meathead.”_

_“It isn’t stupid Toph, it’s the truth. I don’t know how I could live without you. You’re my best friend.”_

_Toph felt a blush form on her cheeks, but this time she didn’t try and hide it. Instead she took his hand in hers. “I’ll always be your best friend Sokka.”_

_“If you want to be around for always, then you need to start treating yourself better. Eat. Sleep. Take better care of yourself. If you don’t... then I’ll force you.”_

_She rolled her eyes at him, but the smile and red on her cheeks proved otherwise. “I’ll take better care of myself, Sokka. I promise.”_

_He smiled down at her and ruffled her hair. “Good.”_

...

Toph bent over a garbage can outside and vomited her insides out—soon she was only puking up alcohol and stomach acid.

She knew Sokka was coming up behind her, she knew his footsteps anywhere, so she waved her arm frantically at him. “I’m fine, Sokka. Just go inside.”

A part of her didn’t want him to see her so... gross. She had chunks of vomit on her face and her breath probably smelt so bad. She didn’t want Sokka to see how horrible she looked—as shallow as that was. 

But of course he didn’t listen. He came up beside her and held her hair back. He didn’t realize how long it had gotten—nearly down to her waist. She wore it straightened tonight, and he thought it definitely suited her well.

He winced at the sound of her pained dry heaving and patted her back as she coughed.

When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her dress and walked over to a bench that overlooked some of Republic City. Sokka followed her of course, and he wished so deeply that she could see how beautiful all the city lights looked in contrast of the dark night sky.

They sat in silence for a while, before she broke it. “I really am sorry about Suki.”

He turned to look at her, but Toph’s gaze was fixated straight ahead.

“Thanks, Toph... but what were you saying before? That it was good for me?”

She nodded. “It’s good for you to spend some time alone, I think. You’ve always been with a partner... you should enjoy some time by yourself.”

At first he was offended by her blunt comment, but after he thought about it... he realized that she was right.

“You don’t always need a girlfriend to be happy, Sokka. You’ll do fine without her.” Toph turned over to him and smiled.

“What about you... are you happy?” He questioned before he could stop himself. He knew that Toph wasn’t too fond about opening up and talking about herself, but it was too late... the words escaped his mouth like... word vomit.

She turned her head away and faced the front again. Sokka was surprised that she didn’t punch or yell at him. It seemed as though she was thinking about his question.

“I think that if you have to think long and hard about whether or not you’re happy... the answer may not be as simple as yes or no.” Her voice felt empty to him. The words were there, but there was a certain sadness to her that he couldn’t quite explain. It pained him.

He set a hand on her knee and she tried so hard not to pull away from his touch. “I’m always here for you Toph... you know that.”

She stifled a smile. “Yes Snoozles, I know.”

“Good.”


	2. Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toph and Sokka spend the day together with Lin, and this brings up memories from when they were teenagers. Including a certain someone’s crush on the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t proof read so please excuse any spelling/grammar errors!  
> Also please let me know what you think so I can make the right changes and such!   
> This isn’t 100% canon either because adding things to fill in the gaps!  
> Hope u enjoy!

_On Toph's 16th birthday, instead of dancing and enjoying the night, she sat alone at her table. Her parents had rented a giant banquet hall and invited tons of family friends, rich people from the earth kingdom, and some civilians they deemed worthy._

_Of course, Toph's closet friends attended as well. But even so, she didn't want to dance. So there she sat... her arms crossed and her traditional scowl was placed across her lips._

_There were so many feet tip tapping away on the ground that it was distracting. All the vibrations were certainly messing with her head—but not enough that she wouldn't notice the person coming up to her._

_"Hey." The voice said. It was a boy, someone she didn't know. He was near enough that she could feel the vibrations of his heart beating incredibly fast._

_"Hi." Toph said flatly._

_The boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Um... Toph, I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me."_

_Her eyes widened at that. Plenty of boys had asked her that exact question during the party, and she refused them all._

_Every time she would think of dancing, she would think about Sokka. Thoughts of him and how badly she wanted to dance with him would flood her brain. She hated it. That's why she was keeping to herself and keeping off the dance floor._

_This time wasn't any different. She shook her head at the boy. "No thanks. I'm not too fond of dancing."_

_A sad look appeared on his face and he stepped away. "It's okay... um-happy birthday." Then he was gone; almost as fast as he came._

_Toph sighed to herself and crossed her arms again. She did feel a little bit bad about rejecting the poor boy... but her thoughts and her heart was elsewhere._

_Sokka was busy twirling around Suki on the dance floor to notice his sulking friend. It wasn't until he got too tired and thirsty that he went back to the table._

_"Im gonna go get a drink! You keep dancing!" He shouted at Suki, who nodded and obliged. With a smile, she disappeared in the crowd of people._

_When the table was in sight, the first thing he noticed was Toph sitting with her head rested on the table. At first he thought she was sleeping, but then he realized it must've been way too noisy for that._

_"Toph!" He shouted as he neared her, causing the girl to shoot up out of her seat._

_"What!"_

_Sokka laughed. "I was just checking if you were awake."_

_She sat back down and crossed her arms again. "Of course I'm awake. There's too many feet in this building! I feel like I'm going insane!" She threw her arms up exasperatedly and let out a huff, blowing her bangs out of her eyes._

_Sokka rubbed his chin as if he were deep in thought. "I have an idea, then."_

_In an instant, he grabbed Toph's hand and pulled her out of her seat. He guided her outside the building to a spot where there was fresh grass and dirt._

_"Is this better?" He asked, a hopeful tone in his voice._

_Toph smiled and sat down on the grass—not caring about the fancy dress her mom made her wear—beckoning Sokka to do the same._

_He did, of course, and couldn't help but smile himself at the sight of her. She seemed much more happy out there then she ever looked at the party._

_"How does it feel to be 16 now?" Sokka asked, breaking the comfortable silence._

_Toph shrugged. "I don't feel any different... I don't look any different... so, nothing."_

_"You do look different though. Much different then when I first met you." Sokka looked over at her. Her hair was much longer, and she had grown into her face much more. She was always a pretty girl, he thought, but now she was a beautiful teenager._

_He blushed at the intruding thoughts. He had never actually thought about how much she had changed. She was always the same Toph to him... but he knew that was the case. They were all growing up, as much as he hated it. That meant his best friend was too._

_"What do I look like, Sokka?" Toph asked, breaking him out of his thoughts._

_"Oh- uh... you are a beautiful girl, Toph. I'm not too sure how to describe you in a way that you’d fully understand, but you are one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen."_

_He noticed how her cheeks turned the tiniest bit of pink, and he felt oddly proud of himself._

_"Thank you, Sokka."_

_"It's not a problem, Toph. Happy birthday.”_

...

"Mommy, is Uncle Sokka coming over today?" Lin asked her mom, who was currently trying to get ready for the day.

After brushing her teeth—that still reeked from alcohol—she moved on to fixing her hair. It was ratty and knotted from the night before, and she could feel how ugly it looked. If Sokka was coming over, she needed to look a little more presentable.

"Yes Lin! He's coming over very soon." She shouted from her bathroom.

There was a knock on the door, and Toph felt tiny footsteps running to answer it.

"Linny!" Sokka shouted as he scooped up the five year old.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around him tight. "I missed you so much, Uncle! Mommy did too."

Sokka smiled at this and set her down, ruffling her hair after. "Where is your mommy?"

"In here!" Toph shouted from the bathroom. She had been desperately trying to tame her hair—to no avail. A part of her was debating just cutting it all off.

Sokka made his way into her room and froze when he saw her. "Your hair..."

"I know, I know." She swatted at him.

He sat down on her bed and tried his hardest to contain the laughter threatening to erupt. "I can help you if you'd like."

Toph put her hands on her hips. "How are you supposed to help me, Snoozles?"

"Well, I do know how to braid. Katara and Gran Gran taught me pretty well." He stood up next to her.

Toph rolled her eyes but moved closer to him. "Braid away, Captain."

...

After they got Toph's hair situation under control, they took Lin out to the park. They sat on the bench as she played with other random children.

It was peaceful, and nice; the two of them enjoying each other's company—and being completely sober while at.

"Lin is a really great kid, Toph. You're doing an amazing job." Sokka said sincerely, looking over at his friend.

She smiled. "I know she is... but I can't take all the credit. She's so smart and helpful... she's truly the best daughter I could ever hope for.”

Sokka nodded, forgetting that she couldn't see him—like he often did.

"What about you, Meathead? Is there any children in your future?" Toph nudged her shoulder into his.

He stiffened at the question. It was a hard one for him to answer. Yes, on one hand, he wanted kids, but Suki on the other hand... didn't. It had been one of the main reasons for their temporary separation. After years of subtle fighting about it, he needed some space.

Instead of dumping this load of baggage on his friend, he just shook his head no. "I don't think so, Toph. Children don't seem to be in my crystal ball, unfortunately."

A frown appeared on her face, and she took his hand in her own. "It's okay, Sokka. You still have lots of time to have children. When the time is right, I think you will be a great dad."

He leaned into her and rested his head on her shoulder. Before he even realized it, he was noticing how good she smelt. Like fresh grass and a hint of jasmine.

"Mommy! Uncle!" Lin shouted from in front of them, pulling him out of his thoughts once again.

"What, Linny?" He said, leaning forward toward the young girl.

"I wanna go home now."

Toph stood up and grabbed her daughter in her arms. "Okay Lin, lets go home."

...

The journey back to Toph's place took longer then expected due to a small detour; Sokka smelled meat in a market stall and demanded that they go.

Of course they did, and they walked home with giant sticks of meat in their hands. Toph knew people were staring at the two of them (plus Lin) holding giant skewers of meat, but she didn't care.

When they got home, Sokka and Toph plopped down on the couch, with Lin sitting in the middle. They sat and ate in silence before it was Lin who spoke up first.

"There was a cute boy at the park today!" She stood up in front of the two and said happily.

Sokka laughed. "What do you know about cute boys, Lin?"

She huffed. "I know a lot! He was very cute... I think I have a crush on him."

"You don't even know his name." Toph chuckled.

"I don't need to! He was the cutest boy I've ever seen... I'll just call him that."

Sokka leaned forward and tapped her nose. "Looks like you've got a crush, Linny."

Lin blushed. "Maybe I do... I'm going to go draw him before I forget what he looks like!" And then she was off. She sprinted into her room and shut the door.

Toph and Sokka just laughed at the naïveté her child had exhibited.

"Well how about that, your daughters very first crush." Sokka nudged her leg with his own.

Toph only rolled her eyes and took another bite of meat, trying to play off this important moment.

"I still remember my first crush... I didn't know her name, but I remember what she looks like. She smiled at me once and my heart fluttered out of my chest." Sokka said, a tint of pink shading his cheeks.

"I remember mine too." Toph said quietly.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Who was your first crush?"

"You."

Sokka already knew that... but he tried his best to act surprised. “Me? You had a crush on me?”

“When I was like 13, yeah. It wasn’t a big deal.” She said as nonchalantly as she could.

Sokka didn’t have to feel the vibrations of her heart to know that she was lying. But instead of saying that, he just said:

“Okay.”

...

_Sokka found out about Toph’s crush a little after her 16th birthday._

_It was on a nice warm day when Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka were at the beach together. Katara had planned everything perfectly; the best spot, best snacks, and of course the best company (minus Zuko and Suki, who were back in the fire nation.)_

_The four of them were happy though. Happy to escape from their duties and relax on the beach._

_The girls made their way down to their spot after getting changed into their swimsuits, while Aang and Sokka set the towels and snacks up near the water._

_His head shot up when he saw them coming, though. His eyes immediately fixated on Toph. She had looked so pretty in her green sundress covering her suit that he couldn’t help but stare._

_“You okay, Snoozles? Did you get stung by something?” Toph asked, with a hint of worry in her voice as they came up to him._

_Sokka shook his head. “What! No!”_

_“Well, your heart was beating pretty fast... I was just worried. Sheesh.” Toph walked past him and sat down on a towel. It was a good thing she didn’t notice his head follow her as she did so._

_Katara snapped her fingers in his face and pulled him away from the others. “What are you doing?”_

_“I’m not doing anything, Katara!”_

_A stern look appeared on his sisters face. “Yes you are. I saw the way you were looking at her... you better stop.”_

_Sokka rolled his eyes. “She’s a pretty girl, what do you want me to do? Act like I’m blind around her?”_

_“No. Just- don’t lead her on or anything... especially because you know.”_

_He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”_

_“She used to have a crush on you... I thought you knew that already. I thought everyone knew.” She sounded a bit surprised._

_His eyes widened a little. Of course he knew that she had a teensy crush on him... but he didn’t think that everyone knew about it._

_“It was only a little crush, Katara. She’s a big girl now, she can handle herself.” Sokka huffed._

_A soft look appeared in his sisters eyes. “It wasn’t just a small crush, Sokka. She liked you for three years... I’m pretty sure she was in love with you.”_

_He whipped his head around to look at Toph, who was talking with Aang, then back to his sister. “Huh?”_

_Katara put a hand on his shoulder. “The past is in the past. You have Suki, and Toph’s over her crush on you... just let it go.”_

_“Yeah... I’ll just let it go.” He nodded in agreement, and they both made their way back to the group._

_There was a problem though, he never did let it go. Every time he looked at Toph, there was a tiny pang in his chest. Even years later, he felt it, but he never acted on it... it never felt like the right time or place._

_“Let it go.” He said out loud to himself as he sat down next to Toph._

_She turned her head. “What was that?”_

_“Nothing... it was nothing.”_

**Author's Note:**

> This is a slow burn serious !!  
> I haven’t watched all of LoK so if the lore is wrong, I’m sorry !!   
> Obviously this isn’t 100% canon but I like to think all of this happened before lok !  
> pls lmk what you think and if there’s any errors with the spelling & grammar !


End file.
